IDES announces holiday hours

The Illinois Department of Employment Security will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, but services will remain available at ides.illinois.gov.

Regular office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. will resume the days after the holiday closures, according to a news release. Because Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 are federal banking holidays, some benefit payments may be delayed.

People can file for first-time unemployment benefits, certify for benefits and sign up for direct deposit online.

IDES also in reminding residents that the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which helps people who have collected unemployment insurance for longer than 25 weeks, ends Dec. 29. The state's regular unemployment program continues.